North, South Relations

Friends look out for one another.

Norfolk, VA

Krogens "The Good Life", "Sea Quill" & "Sylken Sea" at Waterside Marina, Norfolk, VA.

Escort Service

The US Navy call on Sea Quill to escort them into port.

The Good Life

Ah yes, the good life on a boat, even better on a Krogen!

Gilligan & Mary-Anne

Gilligan & Mary-Anne aboard the Minnow.

Krogen Rendezvous

Great time at "Gilligan's Island" (aka Solomon's).  Again Will & Sue did a fantastic job organizing. Randy & Nick got us all in & out without a scratch and no stress. Go slow, think 'island time'.  Works docking too!

The Howells were shopping for a boat to get them off  of "Gilligan's Island"!

Irene

Irene came and went, with a lot of help and coaching we prepared the boat for a direct hit in Pocomoke City. Turned out the storm centre passed about 30 miles east of us. I don't think we saw much more than a sustained 60kts wind. There may have been some higher gusts, and man did it rain! The river got to the top of the docks, low areas were flooded but 12 hours later the worst was over.

Dodged a bullet, hope everyone else did as well.

Fuel Economy Anyone?

This boat is teaching me a lot about boat design. At normal cruise we burn about 2GPH. The boat has no stern wake. That's right, no stern wake. This is in a displacement boat which is the key, I believe, to good fuel economy. Last weekend we ran 1550 to 1600 RPM most of the time and averaged 7+ kts burning 1.7 to 1.8 GPH. The boat is "happy" at this speed and I think for the 48 this is the "sweet" spot. Running harder gives us little gain for a lot higher fuel burn.

Back "Home" in Pocomoke

Well we are now back "Home" in Pocomoke City, MD.  It's been a lot of fun, cruising, meeting people and planning the next adventure.

Now with 9339 NM under the keel and 1510 Hrs on the clock we take a break, do some maintenance and visit with friends.  Ray & Bonnie on Crackerjack live around the corner, as do Arthur & Eloise.  Bill Ulman on sailboat Saguaro is tied up beside us and the "guys" Jim & Herb are just down the dock.  Otis is manning the bridge. Good to see everyone again!

AIS

We are on our way into the Chesapeake, off Virginia beach, in the dark, in heavy squalls.  The rain comes down in buckets. We have several AIS targets but most are not a concern.  We hear a "securite" call on the VHF. A research vessel is doing some type of survey, gives a course, location and references several buoys.  We are not too far apart, about 4 miles, we see the vessel on the AIS and watch it as it closes on us.  The beauty of the AIS is that not only do we see the nice little green AIS image on the radar but when we cursor over it the vessel name & details show up, even after the squall hits and we are "blinded by the rain"!  No radar image just a big yellow screen of "snow" with an AIS image.  I hail the boat on the VHF.  Immediately the captain replies, I tell her of our course and intentions.  "No problem captain we have you on the AIS. We'll be doing a 180 before R4, maintain your course, no conflict".

I have had some discussions in the past with other boaters. Some felt the benefit of a Class B AIS was minimal as they did not feel commercial traffic would pay any attention to Class B recreational traffic.

On this particular night, with this particular vessel I was glad I was "broadcasting".  After the radar the AIS is my favorite tool.  I'd rather be NORDO than be without the radar & AIS.